For fly-casting a leader or casting-line of gut between the fly and the main line is necessary for making a light cast, but for ordinary bait-fishing the gut-snells which are nowadays so generally sold attached to hook are bottom line enough. If, however, you can get some white, gray, or cream-colored hairs from the tail of a young stallion you can make bottom lines or leaders for light fishing without expense.
A gaudy float is pretty sure to form part of the first angling outfit, and it is useful to keep the bait out of the weeds and to notify the inexperienced angler that a fish is biting. Choose one that is slender in shape and not large. A dry stick makes a good enough extemporaneous float, and if fish are shy may be better than a more showy one.
For sinkers split shot B B size and buckshot or strips of thin lead, such as comes from tea-chests, wound around the line are as good as any and very easily gotten.
Do not buy a bait-box. It is not so good as a bag with a draw-string, which will allow your hand to be inserted and will also close the aperture snugly. The same string will serve to fasten the bag to your button-hole or creel-strap. The bag is best made of flannel. Wash it after using.
Worms are much better if dug a day or two before using and “scoured” by putting them into soft moss wrung out of water. They become brighter and firmer by scouring and are more attractive to fish. If live minnows or small fish are used for bait, of course they must be kept in water, which must be changed from time to time. A pail is the most convenient vessel to carry them in.
A landing-net is convenient if you fish for game which is heavy in proportion to your tackle—say for fish upward of a pound in weight with a light rod. Very low-priced ones are now sold in the shops and sufficiently good ones can be made at home.
We give no details about flies as their name is legion. A beginner would better have but few kinds and of moderate size; a few hackles will probably be all he needs.
There are a multitude of things sold in the tackle-shops which are tempting but not at all necessary, not to mention many which could have been devised only by a person who was no angler. Those already spoken of are all that seem essential.
Bait-rods and Fly-rods
Probably most boys are too sensible to fall into the error which seems to beset many adults—namely, that the possession of tackle makes an angler. It is necessary to know how to use it.